Hear Acoustic Workshop together again on stage at the Cox Capitol Theatre

It will be a holiday homecoming for Acoustic Workshop as the original band regroups to play a 20th anniversary reunion show at the Cox Capitol Theatre on Saturday night.

Described as harmony-driven folk rock, the group began knocking around the Macon music scene in the early 1990s. They released a couple of albums and toured around the Southeast until 1997, when the members began pursuing other musical interests.

“Through the years, we’ve done reunions as everyone has gone and done their own thing,” said founding member Josh Carson. “But we haven’t in the past few years. We thought it was a good year to get back and do it again.”

Carson still performs around Macon as does other founding member, Shane Bridges. The two started playing together in high school.

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“Josh (Carson) was playing guitar and I kind of bugged him to show me a few chords and that is kind of how it started,” Bridges said. “We went our separate ways our first two years of college and then he came down to Valdosta State in 1993 and we started playing as a duo down there.”

They were back in Macon during the 1994 Thanksgiving break with plans to produce their first album. To track the recordings, they brought in Charles Gaston on bass and Brad Sorrell on drums. Out of the sessions came the group’s first album, “Rage” and a busy tour schedule.

“We were considered a college band during that time. ... Some people it takes them back to that time in their life,” Bridges said.

Acoustic Workshop went on to record “Strange Addiction” in 1996. Saturday night’s set will include lots of songs from those two albums.

“It will be a fun night and it should be a good crowd,” Bridges said. “I think it will sound just as good if not better than when we quit playing. The chemistry between the band is timeless, so to speak.”

Carson said the crowd can expect “a good high-energy, folk-rock type show.”

“They will recognize a lot of songs as we will bring out a couple of covers ... and we’ll do them our way as usual,” he said.

The show’s timing will roughly coincide with the 1994 recording of “Rage.”

“We spent a lot of time away from home and our shows in Macon -- we always looked forward to them because of familiar faces, familiar town, familiar food,” Carson said. “And every time we do this reunion it just kind of feels like home. I have a feeling this upcoming show will have that kind of feeling.”

Opening for Acoustic Workshop will be the band Leonard Washington, which plays a mix of covers from the Allman Brothers Band and Eric Clapton to the Black Crowes.

“(The show) keeps in line with our dedication to try to be able to play up the local music scene. We’re really proud to be able to put local bands with bigger bands when they come through,” said Roger Riddle, marketing manager for Moonhanger, which manages the Capitol. “This is another local band that people love and it’s around the holiday time. It’s a good time when you are back home with all of your friends and family and you get to see a great band.”

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